Sunday, February 20, 2011

#3: 1UP Yours (2006)

1UP Yours enjoyed almost instantaneous success from the outset. With a mixture of humor and serious discussion about video gaming news and new releases, 1UP’s flagship podcast cemented its position in podcast history with its superb debut year. 1UP and Ziff Davis staff John Davison, Luke Smith, Shane Bettenhausen, and Mark MacDonald joined host Garnett Lee weekly to provide a level of entertainment only paralleled by GameSpot’s The HotSpot.

Garnett Lee opens the show with Whatcha Been Playin’? and makes a controversial statement. Luke and Shane butt heads over the next generation of consoles, as Shane looks to defend Sony and Luke looks to attack everybody. The group talks about the future of gaming, and issues of maturity in the industry, and everybody basks in Garnett’s many foibles.

Timestamps0:03:00 - Introductions0:07:00 - What'cha Been Playin'?0:23:00 - Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo discussion1:54:00 - Various issues and topics including bad quality assurance, multiplatform games, video game journalism, review scores, video games in the media, and the state of the Electronics Entertainment Exposition4:20:00 - Random clips

Notes1UP Yours was a production of 1UP.com and Ziff Davis. All clips in this episode are the property of those parties. The percentage of the original show in this episode is 7.5% (4hrs 42min/60hrs 51min). You can access the timestamp notes here.

Garnett LeeGarnett Lee joined 1UP as a PC editor in 2002 after working for a time in video game retail. The flagship 1UP podcast became 1UP Yours in 2006 after it launched as a non-descript news show in late 2005. Lee quickly became both a capable host, as well as the butt of many jokes for his peers as they mused over his age and his radical opinions about video games. Lee left 1UP in 2009 and joined Shacknews where he started a podcast similar to 1UP Yours called Weekend Confirmed.

John DavisonAfter an already storied career in video game journalism, John Davison joined Ziff Davis in the late 90s. His tenure there saw him switching frequently between magazines, where he served as editor for Electronic Gaming Monthly and the Official PlayStation Magazine. He then took charge of Ziff Davis' 1UP.com. He was the first regular guest on 1UP Yours and is now lauded for his forward-thinking mind. Davison now manages GameSpot. He has effectively retired from podcasting.

Luke SmithLuke Smith began his video game career as a writer for news blog Kotaku. He moved on to 1UP in 2006. He appeared on 1UP Yours immediately and was put in charge of news. Smith’s razor-like sense of humor and his aggressive and passionate tone gave him instant appeal among listeners. He led the podcast’s willingness to openly criticize developers and the industry in a manner not seen before in professional gaming podcasts. He left 1UP in 2007 to join game developer Bungie.

Shane BettenhausenAfter writing for various gaming outlets, Shane Bettenhausen began his long term as an editor for Electronic Gaming Monthly. His encyclopedic knowledge of video games and his apparent intense determination to defend Sony Computer Entertainment made him a fan favorite. Fans adored his frankness, and his continued denial of his Sony bias. He left 1UP in 2008, and after several years with Ignition Entertainment, joined Sony Computer Entertainment.

Mark MacDonaldMark MacDonald joined 1UP after writing for a variety of other gaming publications. He began work on Electronic Gaming Monthly before being moved around Ziff Davis, finally managing GameVideos. A Japan aficionado, he handled a position as a reliever on 1UP Yours, filling in when one of the regular cast members was unavailable. He left Ziff Davis in 2007, and after a short while was hired by Japanese video game localization company 8-4 Ltd., joining former Ziff Davis employee John Riccardi.

I used to edit out clips from the show, and I still have a huge library of them sitting around. I would always tell myself that I would eventually go back and edit them all together into something coherent, but procrastination always got the better of me.

You actually followed through, and now we all have an easily accessible, sharable example of what made 1UP Yours such an extraordinary podcast.

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This Year claims no ownership over the clips featured in each of our recaps. These are the result of hard work done by the original podcasters. You should go and listen to their shows. We thank them for providing great content. Technical assistance by GIOpod Consulting.